Hemu

Hemu ( ; 1501 – 5 November 1556), also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya, was an Indian king (maharaja) who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of the Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when the Mughals and Afghans were vying for power across North India. He fought Afghan rebels across North India from Punjab to Bengal and Mughal forces of Humayun and Akbar in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 battles for Adil Shah Suri. Hemu claimed royal status after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi and assumed the title of Vikramaditya that many Indian kings had adopted in the past. A month later, Hemu was wounded by a chance arrow and captured unconscious during the Second Battle of Panipat and was subsequently beheaded by Akbar, who took the title of Ghazi.

Hemu ( ; 1501 – 5 November 1556), also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya, was an Indian king (maharaja) who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of the Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when the Mughals and Afghans were vying for power across North India. He fought Afghan rebels across North India from Punjab to Bengal and Mughal forces of Humayun and Akbar in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 battles for Adil Shah Suri. Hemu claimed royal status after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi and assumed the title of Vikramaditya that many Indian kings had adopted in the past. A month later, Hemu was wounded by a chance arrow and captured unconscious during the Second Battle of Panipat and was subsequently beheaded by Akbar, who took the title of Ghazi.

Early life

Contemporary accounts of Hemu's early life are incomplete due to his humble background and often biased because they were written by Mughal historians such as Bada'uni and Abu'l-Fazl who served in the court of Akbar. Modern historians differ on his family's ancestral home and the place and year of his birth. What is generally accepted is that he was born into a Hindu family of limited means and spent his childhood in the town of Rewari southwest of Delhi. Modern research confirms that Hemu was born to Rai Puran Bhargav, a Gaur Brahmin of Rajasthan who became Puran Das after acquiring sainthood at the Macheri village of Alwar district in Rajasthan. Due to his family's financial condition, Hemu, at a young age, started working as a tradesman of saltpetre.

Rise to prominence

Details of Hemu's early career are vague and involve much speculation. Following his start as a seller of saltpetre, he is said to have been a trader or a weighman in the market. After Sher Shah Suri died in 1545¹, his son Islam Shah became the ruler of the Sur Empire. During his rule, Hemu became the superintendent of the market in Delhi with some military experience under his belt. Hemu is subsequently said to have been appointed the Chief of Intelligence and Superintendent of Posts. Other sources also place him as a surveyor of the imperial kitchens. Islam Shah, who liked to place Hindus in command alongside Afghan officers so that they could spy on each other, recognised Hemu's soldierly qualities and assigned him responsibilities equivalent to those of a high-ranking officer. Hemu was then dispatched to monitor the movements of Humayun's half-brother, Kamran Mirza, in the neighbourhood of Mankot. Islam Shah died on 30 October 1553 and was succeeded by his 12-year-old son, Firoz Shah, who was killed within three days of his accession by his uncle, Adil Shah Suri. The new ruler was, however, more interested in the pursuit of pleasure than the affairs of the state. But Hemu threw in his lot with Adil Shah, and his military successes led him to be elevated to the position of Chief Minister and the general supervisor of the state. According to Abu'l-Fazl, Hemu "undertook all appointments and dismissals, and the distribution of justice" in Adil Shah's court.

Death

The elephant carrying the wounded Hemu was captured and led to the Mughal camp. Bairam Khan asked the 13-year-old Akbar to behead Hemu. According to Akbar's later courtier Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, he refused to take the sword to a dead man. However, this is not attested by contemporary chronicler Muhammad Arif Qandhari who composed the "Tarikh-i-Akbari", stating that Akbar followed Bairam Khan's advice and himself beheaded Hemu and took the title of Ghazi. The account of Akbar's refusal to behead Hemu is probably a later invention of his courtiers. Hemu's head was sent to Kabul while his body was gibbeted on a gate in Delhi. A minaret was subsequently constructed of the heads of the other dead.

Aftermath

Hemu's family who lived in Machari (near Alwar) was captured by Pir Muhammad, a Mughal officer who had fought at Panipat. Pir Muhammad offered to spare the life of Hemu's elderly father if he converted to Islam. When the older man refused, he was executed. However, Hemu's wife managed to escape. With the passing of Hemu, Adil Shah's fortunes also took a turn for the worse. He was defeated and killed by Khizr Khan, son of Muhammad Khan Sur of Bengal, in April 1557. The spoils from the battle at Panipat included 120 of Hemu's war elephants. Their destructive rampages impressed the Mughals so much that the animals soon became integral to their military strategies.

Legacy

]] Hemu's rise from his humble beginnings in Rewari to the assumption of the imperial title of Raja Vikramaditya is considered a notable turning point in history. But if not for the stray arrow in a battle where he was in a position of strength, Hemu Vikramaditya could have restored a "Sanskritic monarchical tradition" to a region that had been subject to Muslim rule for centuries. However, given that Hemu's army and administrative base consisted of ethnic Afghans loyal to the 'Sur Dynasty', the feasibility of him retaining the royal status is questioned. It would have been an ill-advised move as Hemu's military force was composed almost entirely of Afghans. According to Bada'uni, there were also some murmurings against Hemu amongst the Afghans who were "sick of his usurpation … prayed for his downfall". Even Hemu's enemies grudgingly admired him. Abu'l-Fazl praises his lofty spirit, courage, and enterprise, wishing that young Akbar or perhaps a wise member of his court had deigned to keep Hemu prisoner rather than executing him in the hope that he could have been persuaded to join Imperial Mughal service where he would surely have distinguished himself. Hemu's supporters erected a memorial for him at Panipat, now known as Hemu's Samadhi Sthal.

See also

Chunar Fort Third Battle of Panipat

Notes

References

External links

Mughal-era historians on Hemu Akbarnama by Abu'l-Fazl The Muntakhabu-’rūkh by Bada'uni Tabaqat-i-Akbari by Nizamuddin Ahmad Tārikh-i-Salātin-i-Afghāniyah by Ahmad Yadgar Táríkh-i Dáúdí by Abdullah

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370088933 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.